Yashin
by Tsurai Shi
Summary: The battle of the Valley of the End never happened, because Naruto just left him there....NaruSasu [Part 3 of 3] COMPLETE
1. Ichi

This is a quick fic I'm writing since I couldn't get the idea out of my head. It starts just after the beginning of chapter 218. For those of you who haven't read it, _spoiler alert_!

:Part One:

Sasuke stared up into Naruto's incredulous face with a sense of drifting apathy. He could still feel the sting of the powerful punch Naruto had hit him with, and now the blond had him pinned to the ground underneath him.

Naruto glared down at him, still huffing from the breath he'd used while yelling at him.

Sasuke finally spoke. "So, do I get any stronger staying with those...'comrades'?" He reveled in the shocked look that spread across Naruto's face. "I'm going to Orochimaru." the air rang with the finality of his words, and the curse seal pulsed slightly along his hot skin. Naruto's face changed from shocked to angry in the blink of an eye, and Sasuke suddenly found himself pulled up but the collar of his shirt. He was tempted to slap Naruto's hands away, but resisted for now.

"What are you talking about! Orochimaru was the one who killed the Sandaime and tried to crush Konoha! You think he's just gonna give you a bunch of power for free?"

When Sasuke didn't answer, Naruto shook him slightly. "He just wants your body as his container! You might not come back! You could be killed!

"I can't just let you go somewhere like that!" he finished. Sasuke still stared at him through half-lidded eyes. Why couldn't Naruto see?

"I don't care." he drawled. He could feel it immediately when Naruto sucked in a breath. "All I care about is accomplishing my objective..." he stared directly at the blond. "I can't help it if you get in the way."

What happened next surprised him. Suddenly Naruto's blazing pools of liquid fire darkened, and his eye became almost shallow and emotionless.

'Since when have I cared about his eyes?'

"This...this is what you want?" he looked at him pleadingly, and Sasuke almost scoffed.

"This is your goal, your dream, your ambition? To get the power to kill your brother?" he asked quietly.

Sasuke sneered at the mention of Itachi, but grudgingly answered. "Yes." he thought he saw flicker of something crimson through Naruto's eyes, when suddenly his head thudded back to the ground and he felt Naruto's weight move off of him. He sat up jerkily to meet the other's disturbingly empty eyes. This wasn't like Naruto at all.

"I won't stop you from fulfilling you dream, Sasuke." was all he said, before he turned and walked away. Behind him, Sasuke scrambled to his feet gazing at the blond's back in astonishment. He wanted to yell something, maybe a jibe about him giving up when he swore not to, but no sound escaped his lips.

Sasuke stared until long after the other had disappeared from sight. He only shook himself and turned to leave as the first drop of cold rain hit his nose.

If this was what he wanted, why did he feel so empty inside?

:End Part One:

A/N: I know I didn't do a very good job at portraying Sasuke's emotions, but give me a break! I wrote this in like, half an hour!

This will be shonen-ai at least. This fic is planned in three parts, but may have more if I'm so inclined...

Please review!


	2. Ni

_Roaming through this darkness_

_I'm alive but I'm alone_

_Part of me is fighting this_

_But part of me is gone_

:Part Two:

'It's raining again.' he thought hazily. Sasuke tried to rise slowly, but his dark hair obscured his vision and he fell into the mud.

'Tired. I'm so…tired.' He tried to get up again, but his body refused to obey him. His muscles felt like they were on fire. Instead he settled for turning his head slightly, looking to his left. There, not fifteen feet away, a dark figure covered in an Akatsuki cloak lay in an ever widening pool of crimson blood, though the corpse's heart had stopped beating long ago.

'I've killed him.' he let out a slow, mirthless chuckle. But soon he had to stop when the taste of wet mud filled his mouth and he choked, coughing.

Finally, he summoned enough strength to turn over onto his back. He paid no heed to the filth he was smearing onto his white haori. It was drenched with blood anyway. "What now?" he stared at the swirling clouds above him. Yes, he'd done what he had strived for, for so many years.

He lifted an unsteady hand, that clenched right above his heart. "So why do I feel so…hollow inside?" He could feel his eyes drifting shut. He knew he'd lost too much blood. He was going to die here.

Suddenly he heard footsteps, and his eyes flew open. Was it Itachi's shark partner? No, he'd killed him days ago.

Then his vision was filled with blond hair, and depthless blue eyes. "Na-ruto." his voice cracked. He noticed with detachment that the other wore the robes of the Hokage. 'When did that happen?'

"Did you fulfill your dream?"

Sasuke nodded slowly, his gaze still fixed on his blue eyes.

"Are you happy now?"

After a moment of silence, Sasuke shook his head weakly.

"I…want to go home." he whispered, and suddenly _his_ blond was smiling widely at him. Green light flashed, and a slight tingling told him his wounds were healed. He tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down.

"Stay still. I don't have the skill to completely heal them." wearily he complied, but suddenly felt himself lifted up by two strong arms. Sasuke didn't have the energy to protest as Naruto covered him up with the edge of his robes and held him tight.

"Sleep, Sasuke."

Sasuke gave up struggling and buried his face in the crook of Naruto's neck.

And maybe, he wasn't too far gone already to hear him whisper a distant, _I love you_...

:End Part Two:

A/N: Well..._That_ certainly didn't turn out how I planned it... I planned to have a scene where they met again, just after the three year divide. But I've never read the manga that far, and couldn't find the right anime episode, so...I hope you liked what was planned to be the third chapter anyway! I'll have to think of something different for the next one!


	3. San

_I can't quite forgive you yet_

_We've a long way yet to go._

_But we can try to work it out_

_It's time to take it slow…_

:Part Three:

Sakura watched her former teammate through half lidded eyes. The blonde Hokage was merely sitting at his desk, wading through the mounds of paperwork. Yet even with the mountain piled next to him, he still had one area cleared.

Sakura smiled every time she saw the small framed photo. It was a picture of Team 7, back when they had first formed. Sakura herself was smiling sweetly at the camera, where Kakashi had his mysterious eye-smile, with his hands on top of Naruto and Sasuke's heads, who were glaring at each other like there was no tomorrow.

She turned a concerned gaze back to the twenty-three year old. Ever since that day up in the Valley of the End, something had been missing in Naruto's eyes. Sakura had never been told exactly what had happened, but she was told enough to know…that Sasuke was never coming back.

But when she'd spoken of it to Naruto, the man had just gotten a desolately empty look in his eyes that scared her, and a small smile on his face. "He's coming back Sakura. Eventually." then he'd walked away, leaving a stunned pink haired girl behind him.

Naruto wasn't the same after that. He still smiled at everyone, but they were quieter, more subdued. Everything about him was. He quickly rose in ranks over the next years, training every day he didn't have mission.

He'd actually become quite good looking in that period, and suddenly a lot of girls (ninja and civilians) wereasking him out. He'd declined them all though. It made Sakura wonder, sometimes. If she didn't know Naruto had given up on her, she'd think he was still waiting.

Then one day Tsunade had announced her successor. To everyone's surprise but the Rookie Nine's, Team Gai, and Iruka, it was Naruto. Naturally, the elder villagers put up a big protest over that because they were horrified at the thought of the 'Kyuubi brat' running their village. Tsunade had eventually silenced them by pointing out all the good Naruto had done for the village. All Naruto asked for was a chance.

By the time he'd taken over the village, Naruto had earned the trust and respect of them all.

Sakura was startled out of her musings when Naruto suddenly sat up ramrod straight, looking out the window. "What the matter, Hokage-sama?" she asked tentatively. Naruto spun around and rose out of his seat. He smiled at her. "Sakura, I'm leaving and I'll be back by tomorrow." as she was about to say something he interrupted her, "And no, I won't be taking any ANBU guards." he said firmly, and swept across the room and out the window.

Sakura sat stock still for a moment, before something else registered.

"Naruto, what about your **PAPERWORK**!"

¤

A Tori masked ANBU that stood at the gate sighed. Today was just not his day to get assigned on guard duty. For one thing, it was pouring rain and dark. And for another, his partner was asleep, so he couldn't even get intelligent conversation to battle his boredom. He looked over at his Neko masked partner. Yep, still in a doze…Damn.

He was about to sigh again when he suddenly snapped to attention. There was a strong chakra signature in the distance, approaching rapidly. He tensed, ready for a fight if need be, but relaxed when he recognized the figure that stopped in front of him.

"Hokage-sama." he said with a small bow.

"Neji." Naruto greeted him, then his partner, who'd woken up. "Shikamaru." Neji felt relief flood him. Ever since Naruto had left suddenly and unexplainedly yesterday, the whole village had been tense with apprehension and a small amount of fear.

"Please call Sakura, and tell her to meet me at the hospital right away."

Neji started in surprise. "Are you injured, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, but he is." the blonde indicated a dark figure slumped over his back. Cursing his inattention, Neji focused on the figure. He gasped.

"That's…Uchiha Sasuke." he said in surprise.

"Hai, it is." Naruto grinned.

¤

Sasuke groaned as he drifted to the edge of consciousness.

Had it all been a dream? Any minute now he would wake up to find himself in the middle of the forest, or in his room in Orochimaru's lair. He groaned again. 'And what Naruto said…I must really have been dreaming.'

His eyes felt like they were glued shut. He struggled, but eventually he managed to pry one open, then the other. Cool, blank white ceiling met his gaze. 'I'm in the hospital.' And not just any hospital either. 'Konoha Hospital…' his eyes snapped wide open as his hazy memories suddenly became crystal clear.

"Kuso."

A soft chuckle made him snap his head around so fast his neck popped. There was Naruto at his left side, sitting in a chair drawn up by the bed. Sasuke sucked in a breath, only now noticing how much Naruto had changed. Gone was the boyish face and the baby fat, it had given way to broad skin and finely chiseled features. He was finding it hard to tear his eyes away.

"Naruto."

"It's great to see you awake, Sasuke."

"…How long have I been asleep?" he asked hesitantly.

"Three days. Sakura has had you in an induced sleep while you were healed. You had dangerously low chakra that had to be stabilized, not to mention nearly dead from blood loss." all this was said in a decidedly neutral tone on Naruto's part. He wasn't meeting Sasuke's eyes no matter how much he tried to catch his gaze.

"What about the Curse Seal?"

"I sealed it while you were sleeping. It's a better one, stronger than Kakashi's." Sasuke was starting feel hurt that Naruto still refused to look at him. But he kept up the questioning.

"Not that I'm ungrateful Naruto, but why am I not in prison being interrogated right now?" That got Naruto's attention, and he fumbled around in his robes, finally pulling out a thick yellow folder. He set it gently in the Sasuke's lap as he sat up, finding he could now do so without pain.

"What's this?" he asked, picking up the heavy file.

"It's your ninja profile. Read it."

Not seeing the point, he flicked the cover open. Though there was no picture, it contained his name, age, description, and status. He paused at the last. It didn't say missing-nin…it read, "Gennin of Konoha?" he asked aloud.

"Read the mission stats."

Sasuke hurriedly flipped a few pages until he got to the missions. There weren't very many, so Sasuke skimmed through them. At the very bottom he stopped, staring at it with a shocked composure. He almost forgot to breathe.

_Mission issued by: Rokudaime Hokage_

_Rank: S-class_

_Length: Indefinite_

…_Objective: Kill Uchiha Itachi by whatever means necessary_

His hands were gripping the edges of the file so hard his knuckles were turning white.

_Status: Complete_

¤

Sasuke slowly lowered the folder onto his lap, but didn't look up. He could feel tears burning at the edges of his eyes, but he desperately fought them back. He didn't want to have a breakdown in front of his former friend.

"So…you knew?"

"Iie."

His head snapped up to meet cerulean eyes dead on.

"But I hoped."

The pools that met his weren't empty any more. Now they were filled with life and light, and, he realized with a startled gasp, love. Two tanned hands came up to brush along his cheeks, making him shiver unexplainably.

"Because you are my most precious person in the world, and I'd do anything if it meant getting you back."

His heart was beating a mile a minute, and Sasuke suddenly felt all the emotions he'd suppressed for years well up again with a vengeance.

Suddenly all he wanted to do was be in Naruto's arms and more, for always.

"I love you."

He didn't know who had said it, and suddenly it matter as warm lips came crashing into his with a fiery passion.

He moaned lightly, giving into the kiss as Naruto pushed him back down on the bed. Papers scattered everywhere, but neither cared.

Sasuke smiled as they broke this kiss for air, joy and adrenaline washing through him.

He knew everything wouldn't be perfect after this. Others would still be afraid and wary of him for his betrayal. The rest of Akatsuki and Orochimaru were out there, and a war was on the horizon.

But none of that mattered anymore, because now he had Naruto .

¤

_Owari_

¤

Finished! And just in time for school….joy. I know they're _severely_ OOC, but hey! That's what makes up most non-canon Yaoi fics anyway…-.-;

Please R&R.


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